Cushioned rails forming ball retarder and cleaner



Feb. 14, 1967 Filed Jan. 9, 1964 aa Ex M. M. SCHANKLER CUSHIONED RAILSFORMING BALL RETARDER AND CLEANER 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

Feb- 14, 1967 M. M. scHANKLER 3,304,086

CUSHIONED RAILS FORMING BALL RETARDER AND CLEANER Filed Jan. 9, 1964 5Sheets-Sheet 2- 3 Sheets-Sheet 5' mw w c 1 I /f/ h". nl. .l 4

al. www.

Feb. 14, 1967 M. M. SCHANKLER CUSHIONED RAILS FORMING BALL RETARDER ANDCLEANER Filed Jan. 9, 1964 United States Patent O 3,304,086 CUSHONEDRAILS FORMING BALL RETARDER AND CLEANER hiartin M. Schankler, Muskegon,Mich., assigner to Brunswick Corporation, a corporation of DelawareFiled Jan. 9, 1964, Ser. No. 336,767 3 Claims. (Cl. 273-47) Thisinvention relates to ball return systems and more particularly, to abowling ball retarder for use in cooperation with a bowling ball returntrack.

In present-day bowling establishments, it has been found desirable -to4return the bowling ball from the pit end of a bowling lane to thebowler in the least amount of time possible. Thus, it is the usualcustom to accelerate the ball along the ball return track to a rapidreturn speed. It is, however, desirable that the bowling ball speed bereduced as the ball approaches the ball storage area at the bowlers endof the bowling lane so that there is no danger of injury to bowlers, orto the bowling ball or storage facilities. Accordingly, it is desirableto provide some form of mechanism to gradually reduce the speed of thebowling ball just prior to the storage rack without marking, scutiing orscarring the ball in an undesirable manner.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved ball retarder which reduces the speed of a ball traveling yonya ball return track without marking or scufling the ball.

Another object of the present invention is to provide la new andimproved ball retarder which may be utilized with the existing bowlingball return tracks, either above the lane or below without drasticallymodifying the lane construction.

Still Aanother object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved ball retarder having a pair of spaced carpet covered rails forengaging the ball periphery at more widely spaced positions than theIball return track to thereby convert Ia part of the ball speed torotational velocity while accommodating balls of varying sizes.

Other `objects and advantages will become readily appar rent from thefollowing detailed description when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1a represents a portion of a so-called subway ball return trackincluding a bowling lane pit area;

FIG. 1b represents a second portion of t-he ball return track includinga b-all retarder adjacent the ball storage area embodying the principlesof the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows alongline 2-2 of FIG. la;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of the retarder, partly insection; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken in the direction of thearrows along line 4-4 of FIG. lb.

While an illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in thedrawings and will be described in detail herein, the invention issusceptible of embodiment in many different forms and it should beunderstood that the present disclosure is to be considered as anexemplication of the principles of the invention and is not intended tolimit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. Trhe scope of theinvention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings in more detail, the invention is shown in anenvironment including a pair of adjacent bowling lanes as illustrated atand 11 (Fig. 2), each 3,304,086 Patented Feb. 14, 1967 ICC includingsubstantially conventional gutters yat opposite sides thereof asillustrated at 12 and 13. The lane proper in each case is comprised of aplurality of individual sideby-side laminations, as at 15, suitablysecured together to provide a smooth upper surface along which a ballmay be rolled. The laminations 15 are preferably supported by meanswhich may be described as a subfloor including a sheet as at 16 andtransverse leveling strips 17 therebeneath. The subfloor is mounted on asupport including parallel longitudinal stringers as at 18 andtransverse sleepers as at 19 therebeneath.

Each lane terminates at the .rear end of an installation in a surfaceadapted to support a complement of pins as at 25, set either by hand orby automatic pinsetter, and beyond the end is a pit in conventional formas at 26 between kickbacks provided at opposite sides of the pit as at27. It is contemplated that the rear end of a ball return track wouldusually be positioned atop a kickback as at 27 where balls may bedelivered to the track by suitable means not shown. The track extendsforwardly toward the bowlers approach end of the lane to a ball retarderapparatus 29 from which a ball passes to a ball lift mechanismillustrated generally at 30 for elevating balls from the track to a ballstorage rack as at 31.

The ball lift mechanism 30 may be similar to that in U.S. Patent3,109,648, and the rack 31 may be similar to that in Andersonlapplication for U.S. Letters Patent Serial No. 35,002, tiled June 9,1960, now U.S. Patent 3,119,615, issued January 28, 1964, and assignedto the assignee of this application. v

Though it is well adapted for use with a surface ball return track, theball retarder 29 is shown in series with a subway or underlane ballreturn track portion 32, which may be `of the general type shown in U.S.Patent 3,063,717. As illustrated herein, the track is mounted betweenadjacent gutters 12 and 13 (FIG. 2) of adjacent bowling lanes, beneaththe level of the lanes, leads to the retarder 29, and includes a pair ofparallel longitudinal track rails 35 spaced apart by a suitable distanceless than the diameter of a bowling ball such as that illustrated at 36.Rails 3S are carried on elongate plate means 38 supported at suitableintervals along its length by transverse U-shaped hangers 40 hung fromleveling strips 17. In order to provide a finished appearance, the trackstructure beneath the level -of the lane surface is preferably enclosedby a cover structure as at 42 which may be suitably supported on bridgeplates as at 43 extending between the leveling strips 17.

At the end of the subway track 32, adjacent to the retarder 29, thetrack rails 35 deliver the balls onto a pair of ball-supporting rails 50in the retarder, as best illustrated in cross section in FIG. 4. Asshown, each of the rails 50 comprises an elongate plate-like rail memberS1 of metal, for example, having `oppositely rolled upper and loweredges, as at 52, to provide rigidity. Attached to each Iof the members51 is a carrier plate 54 securely mounted as by screws 55 and havingbonded thereon a carpet-like material as at 56 which presents aball-engaging surface facing toward the oppositely disposed similarsurface.

The rails 50 with the rectangular ball-engaging carpets 56 are `arrangedin spaced parallel -relationship longitudinally of the lane, andapproximately on edge though tilted slightly from vertical downwardlyand toward each other so as to provide a trough-like arrangement forreceiving aso/gone the balls. The rails are suitably secured in positionas by means of U-shaped Ibrackets 58 spaced at suitable intervals alongthe length of the rails and secured to the latter to support the same inthe desired positions. As illustrated, the track provided by the rails50 has a slight inclination downwardly toward the ball lift 30 but itwill be understood that in some installations it might not be necessaryto incline the track and it might be exactly hori- Zontally disposed.

As illustrated herein, bottom portions of the U-shaped brackets 58 aresecure-d together by a longitudinal member as at 60 welded or otherwisesecured to the brackets and adapted to rest upon suitable support meanssuch as sleepers 19a and 19b in turn vsupported by a foundation. Thetrack section of the retarder provided by the rails 50 may be securedagainst longitudinal movement relative to the ball return track 32 as bysecuring the member 60 of the retarde-r to the plate means 38 of thereturn track as by screws 61.

As will appear on viewing FIGS. lb and 4, the ballengaging surfaces ofthe carpet-like material 56 are each elongate and rectangular inoutline, extending from a ball entrance end at 51a to a ball exit end at51h, and each has a substantial width, approximately three inches in theembodiment shown, and the carpet members are arranged generally on edge,inclined slightly from vertical with upper portions spaced apart adistance approximately equal to the diameter of balls to be handled inthe apparatus, or approximately equal-to the diameter of the largestball to be handled, and lower portions are spaced apart a distanceslightly less than the diameter of the smallest ball to be handled sothat each ball is engaged adjacent its horizontal axis transverse -tothe rails and ball motion is thereby converted from primarily advancingrolling motion on the rails 35 to primarily spin on the rails Sil sothat ball progress is substantially slowed inthe retarder, while theinclination and width of the rails in the retarder adapts the apparatusto handle ballsl of varying dimensions as might be encountered in use.In comparison, it will be noted that the rails 35 in the return trackare much more closely spaced so that ball rotation on the track 32results primarily in ball advance. The carpet-like material 56 on therails 50 also acts in the nature of a thin cushion such that the ballsurface is engaged over a substantially greater area than line contactand the carpet material assists in cleaning the ball. The carpetmaterial also has a low coecient of friction with the ball so that thelatter slips somewhat relative to the material to aid in the retardingaction upon initial contact. As the ball settles in the cushion-likematerial, the ball tends to wedge between the rails and the materialimposes a frictional drag.

In order to assist in the retarding action and to aid in cleaning theball, the retarder 29 includes a wiper apparatus 65 which comprises askeleton tunnel-like frame including a pair of inverted U-shaped members66 secured together at the tops by a longitudinal piece 67 welded orotherwise secured to the members 66. Additionally, along the sides, bars68 are secured to side pieces of the members 66 as by spot welding at69. The frame thus provided is utilized as a carrier for a bowed leatherpiece 71 which has a rounded upwardly curved cross section and oppositelongitudinally extending lateral edges secured to the bars 68 as at 72.Lower ends of the U- shaped members 66 straddle the upper edges of therail members 51 to restrain the frame against lateral movement relativeto the track. At the same time, the bars 68 are adapted to rest upon theupper edges 52 of the rail members 51 when there is no ball passingunder the wiper 71. In this fashion, the frame is adapted to be raisedas a ball passes through the wiper, and this will occur by virtue of thewiper providing a passage less than the size of a ball so that contactbetween the wiper and the ball is assured. It will be understood thatthe frame constitute's a weight attached to opposite lateral edges ofthe wiper ensuring adequate pressure of the wiper on the ball to resistball tmotion and also clean the ball.

The entrance end of the wiper is formed with a loop as at 75 and theloop is engaged with a yoke 77 having opposite lower ends supported inbrackets 78 on the rail members 51, and the arrangement is such that theentrance end of the wiper is held open to facilitate ball entry and atthe same time the wiper and its frame are held against longitudinalmovement in the direction of ball movement.

It will be understood that the leather member 71, although flexible, hassufficient inherent strength to support itself at the central portionsthereof in the bowed form illustrated. It has been found preferable toposition the iiesh lside of the leather toward the ball, and in`operation, the entrance end is sufliciently open to permit ball entrywhile the height of the wiper gradually diminishes toward the ball lift30 so that the ball engages the wiper and the latter conforms to theball surface, cleaning the latter and retarding ball motion. Toward theend of the wiper, the passage is normally insufficient to permit theball to go through, and the ball raises the wiper, which lifts the frameweighting the wiper.

Upon leaving the retarder 29, the ball engages a transition piece 80 fordelivering the ball at a controlled rate to the lift mechanism 30. Itwill be noted on viewing FIG. 4 that in addition to retarding the ballspeed, substantially the entire periphery is engaged by the wiper 71 andthe carpet material 56 so that the surface is cleaned of dust and dirt.

In a preferred construction of the device, the retarder rails 50 areinclined from the vertical by approximately 15, but it will beunderstood that there may be variations in the degree of inclinationwithin the scope of the invention. In a preferred working embodiment,the ca-rpet material 56 is similar to that sometimes used in bowlinglane pits adjacent automatic pinsetters and includes a loop pile, thougha cut pile could be used and other forms of carpet material might beusable, as well as other forms of material than carpet, such as somefelt materials. Of significance is the provision of a cushion affordedin the preferred embodiment by the plurailty of flexible fingersprovided by the pile strands with spaces therebetween. Thus, anotherform might employ the usev of plastic material with flexible fingersproviding a ballengaging material in the nature of a cushion.

I claim:

1. In a bowling ball return system having means providing a pair of ballengaging rails spaced apart less than the diameter of a ball to providea return track, a ball retarder at one end of the track for slowing thevelocity of rolling balls of different diameter and comprising: atrough-like structure including a pair of fixed spaced apart, elongate,generally horizontally extending rigid supporting rails of substantialheight on edge inclined only slightly from vertical with lower portionsspaced apart a distanceonly slightly less than the diameter of thesmallest ball used and having upper portions spaced apart a distanceapproximately equal to the diameter of the largest ball used; and anelongate ball retarding member on the inwardly facing surface of eachrail,

said members each having a surface of substantial height substantiallyone-third a ball diameter facing one another to provide ball supportingsurfaces for accommodating to its weight, the coeicient of frictionbetween said cushions and the ball being suiliciently high to retardmovement of the ball, but being suciently low so that there may berolling slippage of the ball relative to the cushions and to insuredischarge of balls from the retarder at a controlled Velocity, saidmembers including a plurality of flexible ball engaging linger means foreffecting a cleaning action on the ball.

2. A ball retarder as defined in claim 1 wherein said member surfacesare generally rectangular.

3. A ball retarder as dened in claim 1 wherein said members are formedof carpeting.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,169,855 2/1916Moehle 273-47 2,879,064 3/ 1959 Wolverton 273-47 3,206,199 9/ 1965Anderson 273-49 FOREIGN PATENTS 325,864 l/ 1958 Switzerland.

RICHARD C. PINKI-LM, Primary Examiner.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, DELBERT B. LOWE,

Examiners.

1. IN A BOWLING BALL RETURN SYSTEM HAVING MEANS PROVIDING A PAIR OF BALLENGAGING RAILS SPACED APART LESS THAN THE DIAMETER OF A BALL TO PROVIDEA RETURN TRACK, A BALL RETARDER AT ONE END OF THE TRACK FOR SLOWING THEVELOCITY OF ROLLING BALLS OF DIFFERENT DIAMETER AND COMPRISING: ATROUGH-LIKE STRUCTURE INCLUDING A PAIR OF FIXED SPACED APART, ELONGATE,GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING RIGID SUPPORTING RAILS OF SUBSTANTIALHEIGHT ON EDGE INCLINED ONLY SLIGHTLY FROM VERTICAL WITH LOWER PORTIONSSPACED APART A DISTANCE ONLY SLIGHTLY LESS THAN THE DIAMETER OF THESMALLEST BALL USED AND HAVING UPPER PORTIONS SPACED APART A DISTANCEAPPROXIMATELY EQUAL TO THE DIAMETER OF THE LARGEST BALL USED; AND ANELONGATE BALL RETARDING MEMBER ON THE INWARDLY FACING SURFACE OF EACHRAIL, SAID MEMBERS EACH HAVING A SURFACE OF SUBSTANTIAL HEIGHTSUBSTANTIALLY ONE-THIRD A BALL DIAMETER FACING ONE ANOTHER TO PROVIDEBALL SUPPORTING SURFACES FOR ACCOMMODATING BALLS HAVING DIFFERENTDIAMETERS, SAID MEMBERS BEING FORMED OF A CUSHION-LIKE MATERIAL OFSUBSTANTIAL THICKNESS TO PROVIDE BALL ENGAGING CUSHIONS, SUCH THAT THEWEIGHT OF EACH BALL CAUSES IT TO SINK INTO THE MATERIAL AND THE BALLTENDS TO WEDGE BETWEEN THE RAILS, WHEREBY THE CUSHIONS MAKE GREATER THANLINE CONTACT WITH THE BALL ADJACENT ITS DIAMETER TO CONVERT ROLLINGADVANCE TO PRIMARILY SPIN AND TO EXERT A FRICTIONAL DRAG ON THE BALL DUETO ITS WEIGHT, THE COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION BETWEEN SAID CUSHIONS AND THEBALL BEING SUFFICIENTLY HIGH TO RETARD MOVEMENT OF THE BALL, BUT BEINGSUFFICIENTLY LOW SO THAT THERE MAY BE ROLLING SLIPPAGE OF THE BALLRELATIVE TO THE CUSHIONS AND TO INSURE DISCHARGE OF BALLS FROM THERETARDER AT A CONTROLLED VELOCITY, SAID MEMBERS INCLUDING A PLURALITY OFFLEXIBLE BALL ENGAGING FINGER MEANS FOR EFFECTING A CLEANING ACTION ONTHE BALL.